Major League Soccer is the eighth highest-attended soccer league in the world based on average crowds, according to data presented by the league and culled from ESPN and worldfootball.net.

MLS’s average gate this season is 18,828. While that’s less than half the average of 45,726 who attended German Bundesliga games during 2011-12, it’s higher than figures from France’s Ligue 1, Argentina's Primera División and Brazil’s Serie A.

MLS attendance has received a big boost from the crowds in Seattle. (AP Photo)

The English Premier League ranks second at 34,601 fans per game in 2011-12, followed by Spain’s La Liga (30,272), Mexico’s Liga MX (25,288 during the spring 2012 season), the Italian Serie A (23,459), the Dutch Eredivisie (19,516) and the Chinese Super League (18,928 through Sunday).

The MLS total is boosted by the average of 42,666 who fill CenturyLink Field for Seattle Sounders games. Only four other MLS clubs—the Houston Dynamo, L.A. Galaxy, Montreal Impact and Portland Timbers—average more than 20,000 per match.

MLS’s 18,828 per game is higher than the NBA’s 2011-12 average of 17,274 and the NHL’s of 17,455. MLS’ one-year record was established last year with 17,872 fans per game, breaking the 17,406 set in the inaugural year of 1996.